Chapter 29: Homeboy
Out of all the concerts our company produce, the biggest one has got to be JYPNation. The event aims to bring all artists and employees together for a huge collaboration so we're all expected to help one way or another. Today, our task is to take videos and photos and make sure our assigned groups go on V Live before the show, which is why we're on our way to the dressing rooms.
Mina smooths the front of the frilly black Zara blouse I gave her before knocking on the door. I look down at my own black Zara miniskirt, black Armani silk shirt, and my black heeled boots as we wait. A makeup Noona opens the door for us and even she is dressed impressively in all-black. I don't think there's a memo on employee outfits but we've been in the business long enough to know that it's a heinous crime to dress in wild colors during live events because it might steal the attention away from the idols. Mina seems extra wary of me making this mistake especially now that I've become recognizable to fans since working at Callabooze.
We come in and find ourselves in the middle of orderly chaos. Youngjae is warming up his vocals while someone works on his hair. JB sits calmly on a makeup chair, waiting for his turn beside Brian. Jinyoung is talking to Wonpil animatedly. Jackson is on the phone with someone but he waves at me with a bright smile the minute our eyes meet. It's like nothing really happened... Yugyeom and the other DAY6 members are nowhere to be found. BamBam and Mark are busy talking to the stylist. I guess Jackson notices the lingering look I'm throwing Mark so he covers his phone's mouthpiece to call his friend's attention before pointing to me.
Mark turns to my direction and I feel my heart constrict at the sight of him in a white tank top, ripped jeans, and wet hair. "Noona!" He exclaims, flashing his perfectly white teeth at me which sends my heart into frenzy.
"Noona, what do you think of this outfit for Mark Hyung?" BamBam asks, holding up a striped long sleeve top and a white tee on a hanger. Mina and I make our way to them to take a closer look at Mark's outfit.
"Oh joha," [Oh I like it,] I say nodding and smiling at the appreciative stylist who puts a tag on the hanger the moment BamBam hands it to her. "Which performance are you wearing that to?" I even ask, still in Korean. Mina listens curiously beside me, surprisingly silent.
"I'm wearing it for Ooh Aah," Mark answers in English to which I nod to. "Oh, and here's what I'm wearing for the Japan leg..." Without warning, Mark pulls up another set, this time featuring a black, see-through mesh top and a denim vest with lots of embroidered patches. "What do you think?" Suddenly, I'm wishing I could go back to Narita next month so I can witness him dance in all this mesh top glory. He sees the glint in my eyes and smirks when I gnaw at my lower lip. I can't believe you're doing this to me at work, Mark, damn.
"I'm sure your fans are going to love it," I say, still staring at the outfit before me. He winks at me shamelessly and puts the hanger back into the rack.
From behind us, we hear Nikhun calling out to BamBam in Thai. The maknae excuses himself to approach his sunbae and as soon as he turns his back on us, Mark leans down to whisper in my ear. "Keep your eyes on me later, Baby." His lavender scent lingers when he moves past me and I try to act as if nothing happened. Thankfully, Mina seems distracted as heck. I let her lead me towards JB who's finally replacing Brian in the makeup chair.
"You still haven't answered my invite, JB-yah." I say poking his shoulder. He gives me a shy grin that brightens up his beautifully bare face, his eyes turning into tiny crescents.
"We went to her gig with Jackson. You should come too, JB!" Mina bravely adds. She recently revealed that she's older than JB by a year and when the idol discovered it he immediately resorted to calling her Noona and thus she stopped calling him JB-ssi.
"Ah mianheyo, bappayo. [Ah sorry, I'm busy.] I don't have anyone to go with anyway,"
"I'll come with you," I see hints of pink on Mina's cheeks as she consciously pushes her round glasses up the bridge of her nose. Does JB not notice the way my friend is blushing because of him?
"Geuleohseyo," [Yes please,] He says, closing his eyes to let the makeup artist dab CC cream generously all over his face. "Ulineun Mark gati gasseumyeon johgesseoyo." [I hope we go together with Mark.] He opens one eye and looks directly at me through the mirror, his playful yet calm smile says all that needs to be said. I give him a friendly grin in response, remembering Jackson's opinion on Mark's real feelings just a few nights ago. I wonder if JB and Jinyoung have the same thoughts as Jackson. Maybe that's why they're not against this weird set-up.
"Dangyeonhaji [Of course]. How about Jackson and Jinyoung?" Mina asks, probably getting excited at the thought of being with GOT7's Hyung line outside of work.
"Jackson's flying out to China soon for his schedules and Jinyoungie doesn't really like going to clubs," I snicker at JB's comments and so does Mina. He knows his members all too well that he's able to speak on their behalf. "We'll see what we can do, I'll let you guys know when we're free from the studio. The new album is taking up a lot of our time." He adds, hands gesturing lazily while the makeup Noona does his eyes. We talk briefly about the upcoming album, and the possibility of having one of his songs released as GOT7's next title track. Then we decide to leave him alone for a bit to ask Jinyoung to do the V Live since he's just waiting for their stage calls.
We help him and Wonpil with the broadcast set-up with both Mina and I feeling ecstatic that the two idols seem to have natural chemistry because they are both 94-liners. In the middle of the broadcast Mark comes in eating a burrito and both Jinyoung and Wonpil decide to include him despite the fact that he's not a 94-liner, earning a lot of delighted comments from the fans. I immediately hand an extra phone to Wonpil so they could read the comments in real time while Mark leaves to dispose of the burrito that fell from his hands. After a while, the older boy settles beside them again with a plate of food and I giggle soundlessly when one fan comments that the show is turning into another mukbang, thanks to him. "Can I eat here while they broadcast? Is that okay?" He asks me and Mina off frame, to which we nod.
I stand quietly by the right corner of the room, my eyes watching Mark down a spoonful after another. I try not to stare at his well-sculpted arm muscles and the veins running beautifully across his forearm. He's bulking up so well and I don't think I'll recover soon enough from the sudden hot flushes this sight is giving me. He catches my eye and smiles fondly. I hope for the life of me that Jinyoung's camera doesn't catch it.
Nikhun and Yugyeom drops by for a bit, accidentally revealing their costumes which got us flailing our hands in panic. Yugyeom approaches me immediately when he realizes what I mean. "Noona, mianheyo..." He whispers cutely, scrunching up his face before hugging me. I hug the giant maknae back and ruffle his tousled hair a bit before shooing him away. As he waves goodbye I catch Mark's eye again which seems to be warning me off for treating Yugyeom like a baby. For a minute there I start to think that's he's getting jealous but I brush it off quickly.
As soon as the broadcast ends Mina and I are instructed to proceed to our designated areas in the arena. We're supposed to take photos of the performances for the marketing team's archive and PR collaterals which is why we're situated right on the forefront, just a few steps away from the stage. I'm starting to regret wearing heeled boots for this occasion. When the concert starts, Mina and I take turns snapping photos of JYP's biggest stars, making sure we get enough material for the team.
At one point, I get a glimpse of Mark through my camera's eyepiece staring directly at me while he dances, his mouth forming the word "Baby". It sends me reeling so hard, I almost forget to press the capture button. He winks, blows kisses, and even waves at my general direction, making the people behind me scream.
They don't know who it's for.
At the end of the day, no one really does.
I wipe the sweat off my forehead as I leave the restricted area, silk shirt sticking to my body in the most unattractive way imaginable. The aftermath of the concert also means we need to back up all the photos we took and drop them off at the office before finally heading home. "Aishhh, jichyeo! [Aishhh, I'm exhausted!] I don't know if I should rejoice over the fact that my job involves being in a concert and standing around all day in an arena as big as this," Mina mutters after a long stretch of silence. We are slumped like stacks of hay in the bleachers, legs spread out before us as we watch people clean the stage for Day 2 of JYPNation. Beside me, Mina is aimlessly playing with the hem of her shirt while I'm transferring the files to our team's hard drive through my MacBook Air. Jenny and the other members of our team were assigned to cover tomorrow so we can get some rest. The ones who won't be resting for a day are the idols. Then again, they're the ones who are paid in millions and millions of won so I guess it's just fair, right? My phone starts buzzing in my skirt's pocket and I don't even have to check the display name to see who it is.
Wow. This man is always on cue.
Mark: Did you leave already?
Love: Nope, still here.
Mark: Come by my dressing room.
Love: Sorry Baby we're leaving as soon as I finish copying the files. I brought Andy with me...
I lock my phone screen before Mina gets a glimpse of it. "Done!" I announce closing my Macbook in a hurry. For some reason, I'm suddenly feeling antsy to come home.